The story point ...Dawn of the Siren genus. The visualization of an ancient myth, within the Sirens book ... The volume of Sirenia's mournful song finds a sympathetic ear. Her compassion is the first spark of hope, that two estranged worlds may yet become one. Her sacrifice will prove her salvation ... but there is a price to pay.

Writing has long been a integral part of Mark Heine's creative process. In the pursuit of his original artistic voice, Mark's writing has evolved to become the driving force behind his work and has led him to envision a world of his own creation. SIRENS, the culmination of 30 years exploration, is inspired by the sea-nymphs, made famous in Homer's Odyssey. Theses under-water visions of mythological muse are rooted in the moments of an on-going and developing fictional narrative. This complex narrative, involving human evolution and our natural environment, is the unifying conceptual thread that ties these surreal visions. Ultimately, the paintings will illuminate the completed book and will also serve as scale studies for larger, life-sized works, to be presented as a large scale show that will coincide with the launch of the book.